Unique modular construction for use as a forming fabric in papermaking or tissue or nonwovens

Abstract

A forming fabric including a sheet contact layer of woven material and a base layer formed of a layer of spiral turns formed by a spirally-wound material strip, the material strip having a width which is smaller in width than the forming fabric, the longitudinal axis of the spiral turns making an angle with said machine direction of the fabric. The sheet contact layer and the base layer are laminated to one another to form a single fabric.

1. A papermaker's forming fabric, comprising:
 a sheet contact layer of a full-width woven material having a substantially smooth texture; 
 a base layer formed of a layer of spiral turns formed by a spirally-wound material strip, said material strip having a width which is smaller in width than the papermaker's fabric, the longitudinal axis of the spiral turns making an angle with said machine direction of the fabric, and 
 wherein the sheet contact layer and the base layer are laminated to one another to form a single fabric. 
 
   
   
     2. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the sheet contact layer is formed of a plain weave. 
   
   
     3. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the sheet contact layer is woven endless. 
   
   
     4. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the sheet contact layer is a woven single layer fabric joined to form an endless fabric. 
   
   
     5. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the material strips are bonded to one another by at least one of the bonding techniques selected from the group consisting of ultrasonic bonding, adhesive bonding, bonding through low melt materials and bonding through the use of bondable yarns. 
   
   
     6. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the sheet contact layer and the base layer are bonded to one another by at least one of the bonding techniques selected from the group consisting of ultrasonic bonding, adhesive bonding, bonding through low melt materials and bonding through the use of bondable yarns. 
   
   
     7. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 6 , wherein the sheet contact layer comprises bondable yarns. 
   
   
     8. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 6 , wherein the base layer comprises bondable yarns. 
   
   
     9. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 6 , wherein the sheet contact layer and the base layer comprise bondable yarns. 
   
   
     10. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 6 , wherein the bondable yarns of the sheet contact layer are selected from a group yarns consisting of only the MD direction, in only the CD direction, and in both the MD and CD directions. 
   
   
     11. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 6 , wherein the bondable yarns of the base layer yarns are selected from a group consisting of only the MD direction, only the CD direction, and in both the MD and CD directions. 
   
   
     12. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 1 , wherein said material strip is selected from a group consisting of woven strips of MD and CD yarns, knitted material, braided material, nonwoven mesh, and an array of MD and/or CD yarns. 
   
   
     13. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 1 , wherein adjacent longitudinal edge portions of the spirally-wound material strip are so arranged that said layer has a substantially constant thickness over the entire width of the fabric. 
   
   
     14. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 13 , wherein said adjacent longitudinal edge portions of the spirally-wound material strip are arranged edge to edge. 
   
   
     15. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 13 , wherein said adjacent longitudinal edge portions of the spirally-wound material strip overlap. 
   
   
     16. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 1 , wherein said layer of spiral turns further comprises an edge joint provided between adjacent longitudinal edge portions of the spirally-wound material strip. 
   
   
     17. The papermaker's fabric of  claim 16 , wherein said adjacent longitudinal edge portions of the spirally-wound material strip are bonded by a method selected from the group consisting of meltbonding, sewing, ultrasonic bonding, and gluing to provide said edge joint. 
   
   
     18. A method of producing a papermaker's forming fabric comprising the steps of:
 providing a sheet contact layer of a full-width woven material having a substantially smooth texture; 
 providing a base layer formed by a spirally-wound material strip, said material strip having a width which is smaller in width than the papermaker's fabric, the longitudinal axis of the spiral turns making an angle with said machine direction of the fabric; and 
 laminating the sheet contact layer and the base layer to one another to form a single fabric. 
 
   
   
     19. The method of  claim 18 , comprising a step of forming the sheet contact layer by plain weave. 
   
   
     20. The method of  claim 18 , comprising a step of forming the sheet contact layer by endless weaving. 
   
   
     21. The method of  claim 18 , comprising a step of weaving the sheet contact layer. 
   
   
     22. The method of  claim 21 , comprising a step of joining the sheet contact layer to form an endless fabric. 
   
   
     23. The method of  claim 18 , comprising a step of bonding the material strips to one another by at least one of the bonding techniques selected from a group consisting of ultrasonic bonding, adhesive bonding, bonding through low melt materials and bonding through the use of bondable yarns. 
   
   
     24. The method of  claim 18 , wherein the sheet contact layer and the base layer are bonded to one another by at least one of the bonding techniques selected from a group consisting of ultrasonic bonding, adhesive bonding, bonding through low melt materials and bonding through the use of bondable yarns. 
   
   
     25. The method of  claim 24 , wherein the sheet contact layer comprises bondable yarns. 
   
   
     26. The method of  claim 24 , wherein the base layer comprises bondable yarns. 
   
   
     27. The method or  claim 24 , wherein the sheet contact layer and the base layer comprise bondable yarns. 
   
   
     28. The method of  claim 24 , wherein the bondable yarns of the contact sheet layers are selected from a group consisting of only the MD direction, only the CD direction, and both the MD and CD directions. 
   
   
     29. The method of  claim 24 , wherein the bondable yarns of the base layer yarns are selected from a group consisting of only the MD direction, only the CD direction, and both the MD and CD directions. 
   
   
     30. The method of  claim 18  wherein said material strip is selected from the group consisting of a woven strip of MD and CD yarns, knitted material, braided material, nonwoven mesh, and an array of MD and/or CD yarns. 
   
   
     31. The method of  claim 18  comprising the step of arranging adjacent longitudinal edge portions of the spirally-wound material strip so that said layer has a substantially constant thickness over the entire width of the fabric. 
   
   
     32. The method of  claim 31 , comprising the step of arranging said adjacent longitudinal edge portions of the spirally-wound material edge to edge. 
   
   
     33. The method of  claim 31 , overlapping said adjacent longitudinal edge portions of the spirally-wound material strip. 
   
   
     34. The method of  claim 18 , wherein said layer of spiral turns further comprises an edge joint provided between adjacent longitudinal edge portions of the spirally-wound material strip. 
   
   
     35. The method of  claim 34 , wherein said adjacent longitudinal edge portions of the spirally wound material are bonded in a method selected from the group consisting of heat bonding sewing, ultrasonically bonding, and gluing together to provide said edge joint.